A compressed air tank is both heavy and bulky, but carrying it frees the diver from the restraint of an air line. Efforts have been made to reduce the size and weight of the tank by changes in materials and construction, but successes have been minor. The inescapable size and weight of the compressed air tank has resulted in correspondingly bulky and cumbersome harnesses for carrying them. A molded back plate of a certain design has become quite popular in that it conforms very well to the diver's anatomy, is fairly comfortable and provides a stable arcuate seat for the compressed air tank.
Since the tank represents not only a considerable weight, but also a significant viscous drag, the tank must be made very secure to the back plate. To that end, it has been common to utilize spring steel bands encompassing the tank and anchored at opposite ends to the back plate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,129 to Zambrano discloses an old style back plate, steel bands and simple draw screws for locking the tank to the back plate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,664 to Hue discloses a quick release mechanism for the steel bands which is complicated and difficult to adjust for air tanks of slightly different diameters. U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,131 to Tabata discloses a quick release mechanism for a single wide steel band that provides some improvement in the adjustments for slightly different sized air tanks. But notably, steel bands have become an accepted necessity for supporting the massive air tanks.
The steel tank bands add significant bulk to the back plate, creating storage problems which may be significant on craft that carry divers and their equipment. Furthermore, the tank bands create certain hazards in handling, since they may cut.
In order to remove an air tank from a steel harnes, the tank must slide through the released band. This operation is cumbersome. Detachable clips for the bands have been proposed, but the spring characteristics of the steel bands simply mean that one cumbersome manipulation is substituted for another.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a harness for a compressed air tank that uses flexible webbing rather than steel bands, whereby the problems related to steel band harnesses are overcome. A further object of this invention is to provide an improved harness of this character that is simple in operation and construction, and which retains its adjustment so that removal and replacement of compressed air tanks is greatly facilitated. A still further object of this invention is to provide an air tank harness of this character that utilizes a high leverage toggle mechanism of improved design whereby secure attachment of the air tank can be achieved with small effort.